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Chapter 20: Walking the Dog for Neighbor No.150…
For several consecutive days, Li Huanhuan received “nutritional meals” from her neighbor in unit 150 across the hall.
In return, she bought a large bag of snacks (for both humans and dogs) online and had it delivered to the doorstep of unit 150. After recovering from the flu, she also left a sticky note asking when the neighbor would be available—she wanted to invite him and his cousin Dongfang Jiao out for a meal as a thank-you for their help that day.
But after leaving the note, she never got a reply.
Worried that the note might’ve been blown away, she messaged Dongfang Jiao.
She had added Dongfang Jiao as a friend on WeChat after returning from the hospital. Dongfang Jiao was happy to receive her message and said she’d love to go out, but she’d need to ask her cousin first.
Ten minutes later, she replied: her cousin had been very busy lately and probably couldn’t make time. He had received the snacks and both he and the dog, Barbecue, really liked them. She thanked her again for the kind gesture but said she didn’t need to be so formal.
“No time?” Li Huanhuan rubbed her chin, thinking.
If he didn’t want to come out, she couldn’t force him.
She asked Dongfang Jiao again.
Dongfang Jiao said she was also busy recently with her internship and would have to wait until later.
0.0: “I see. Then let’s go out for a meal when you both have time.”
Jiao: “Okay~ Thank you, sis. [Happy Spin].jpg”
Li Huanhuan put down her phone and went back to brainstorming her video content. Because of the flu, she had fallen behind on video updates. Private messages and comments urging her to update were piling up. So after recovering, she had to work overtime to catch up.
Meanwhile…
Qin Shi was at the Sirius Club.
After a meeting, he walked out with the crowd. His phone buzzed twice in his pocket. When he checked it, he saw a message from his cousin Dongfang Jiao.
Jiao: “Handled it! Bro, why are you hiding from that big sister? [Gossip Face].jpg”
“Qin Shi, what are you looking at?”
Behind him, Hu Xun leaned in curiously.
“Nothing.” Qin Shi quickly put away his phone with a serious face.
“Huh? Not even gonna let me peek?”
Hu Xun, with striking red hair, scratched his chin and stared thoughtfully at Qin Shi. “You’ve been acting weird lately. I even saw you looking at recipes during your break the other day. Are you learning to cook?”
Hands in his pockets, Qin Shi walked away. “None of your business.”
Hu Xun tried to follow up but was grabbed by Zhou Jianyu from behind. “Everyone has secrets.”
“But it’s so weird! He never used to cook, and now he’s studying recipes? Is he possessed?” Hu Xun shivered and hugged his arms.
“…” Zhou Jianyu.
Akun walked over and pushed his glasses up his nose. “It’s simple—Qin Shi’s in love!”
In love? Qin Shi?
Hu Xun and Zhou Jianyu looked at each other.
“What’s this about love?” Coach Yang Shantai walked over. “You talking about Qin Shi? I heard he was on a blind date recently. How did that go? Make sure he doesn’t let romance interfere with the competition.”
Coach Yang sounded like a concerned father.
The three guys standing at the door all made awkward expressions at the word “blind date.” One scratched his ear, one stared straight ahead, and another pulled out his phone and muttered something about picking up delivery. In a flash, they were gone.
“Tsk, these boys…” Old Yang shook his head.
Qin Shi, hands still in his pockets, went to the restroom.
When no one was around, he took out his phone to re-read Jiao’s message.
Li Huanhuan actually wants to treat me to dinner?
The corners of his mouth curled up—then he forced them back down.
“No, I can’t let this happen.”
He pressed his lips tightly together and told himself, “She’s inviting the ‘neighbor from unit 150,’ not ‘Qin Shi.’ Besides, now’s not the time to come clean.”
From their past interactions, he sensed that Li Huanhuan was somewhat resistant to him—she didn’t seem to want any connection. She tried to hide it, but he still felt it.
His plan now was to use the identity of “Neighbor 150” to get closer to her, build rapport, and when she had enough affection for him, find a chance to confess everything. But the time wasn’t right yet. Something was still missing.
Just delivering food and driving her to the hospital wasn’t enough to make him special in her heart.
Of course, at that moment, Qin Shi didn’t know that Li Huanhuan had already been inside the home of the “neighbor from unit 150.”
Fantasia had just released a new “Cat & Dog” video series.
Since she had just gotten over the flu, Li Huanhuan included her flu experience in the video.
The comment section was lively as always.
Li Huanhuan couldn’t understand these CP shippers.
Fantasia: “It’s just friendship.”
Li Huanhuan facepalmed and exited the comments.
Xiao Jing: “What’s going on with your mysterious neighbor?”
0.0: “Friends.”
Xiao Jing: “Any progress?”
0.0: “Not happening.”
Xiao Jing: “Tsk. You disappoint your dad.”
0.0: “Yes, Grandpa. I am but a foolish granddaughter.”
God.
Why does it feel like the whole world is shipping them?
In the “Cat & Dog” series, they ship cat-dog CP. In real life, Xiao Jing is always suspecting something between her and her neighbor from unit 150.
As if! Li Huanhuan sighed.
She wasn’t interested in romance—but she did admit she was a sucker for good looks. While the neighbor was a nice person, he wasn’t her type. She felt they were better off as neighbors and friends.
“Meow~”
Her highness the cat came over again, rubbing her legs, demanding treats with cuteness.
“Okay, okay, I’ll get it!” Li Huanhuan patted the cat’s head and went to the living room to grab a can. She also started a livestream for her cat.
Ever since that night—when the top supporter of her livestream “His Majesty the Cat” threw down a bunch of luxury ships in response to trolls and boosted her stream to the top of the pet category rankings—her audience had grown.
Of course, the haters had grown too.
Many of them were fans of another pet-streaming star called “Big Mengmeng.” Thankfully, her own fanbase had grown strong enough to fight back and defend her.
For now, Li Huanhuan had no plans to shut down the stream again.
That day, one of her most loyal supporters—“If Not Hotpot, Then BBQ”—was oddly absent, but she still had fun streaming and managed to grab several funny screenshots of her cat.
Two days later, Li Huanhuan went downstairs to pick up a package and ran into Dongfang Jiao walking Barbecue.
The moment Barbecue saw her, he sat down and wagged his tail excitedly. Dongfang Jiao was so embarrassed she reached out and closed his open mouth, shielding him.
“Good afternoon, sis,” Jiao said.
“Good afternoon.”
Li Huanhuan nodded, holding her parcel. Barbecue whimpered softly behind Jiao’s hand. Li Huanhuan greeted the husky, “Good afternoon, Barbecue.”
Barbecue’s tail spun like a helicopter.
“You dumb dog, quiet!”
Dongfang Jiao smacked his head and turned to complain.
Her cousin had been super busy lately, practically living at the office. Next week, he was heading to another city for work, so she was stuck taking care of Barbecue. But she was a senior in college, currently interning, and overwhelmed herself. It was getting hard to walk Barbecue every day.
She was considering hiring a dog-walker online.
Li Huanhuan paused and asked, “Can I do it?”
“Huh?” Jiao was surprised.
Li Huanhuan nodded.
She’d been wanting to lose some weight, but every time she tried doing workout videos, she got sick. After the flu, she realized health was super important.
But she was lazy, a homebody. Even taking out the trash was a struggle. Sticking to daily exercise was pretty much impossible for her.
But if she agreed to walk Barbecue for her neighbor, things would be different.
First, it was a way to repay the favor.
Second, Barbecue wasn’t her dog. Once she agreed, she’d have no excuse to back out. Saying “I’m too lazy” would be embarrassing.
Jiao’s surprise turned to delight. “If you’re willing, that would be amazing!”
After heading upstairs, Li Huanhuan waited at the door while Barbecue wagged his tail. Jiao opened the smart lock to unit 150 and invited her in.
“This is the guest room, here’s the living room, kitchen, study, bathroom, and my cousin’s bedroom…” Jiao gave her a quick tour.
It was Li Huanhuan’s first time inside.
Compared to her cozy decor, the neighbor’s apartment was minimalistic—black, white, and grey. It looked high-end but lacked the lived-in feel. It didn’t really match the guy she’d seen in Jiao’s car.
“Jiao, did you tell your cousin?” Li Huanhuan asked cautiously.
Jiao turned away. “O-of course! He was all for it. He even said a door-to-door dog-walker shouldn’t be cheap. Okay, moving on…”
She dragged Li Huanhuan over and showed her where the dog food and cans were, and explained Barbecue’s daily routine, feeding schedule, walk times, and…
“Oh, he also has a weekly favorite livestreamer—but never mind, it’s too much hassle to explain the account stuff. Let’s wait till my cousin returns.”
She didn’t want to risk getting caught using the account.
Li Huanhuan nodded. “Got it.”
In the end, they settled on ¥100 per day. Li Huanhuan would feed Barbecue, monitor his health, and take him out three times daily.
And so began Li Huanhuan’s dog-walking (and accidental weight-loss) journey.
Far away in S Province, Qin Shi suddenly sneezed.
He rubbed his nose. “Weird… feels like something’s happening…”
In the distance, Coach Yang waved at him. The exhibition match was about to start. Time to go.